Apparatus for concentrating ores centrifugally



April1 9 1950 Q G. G. CHISHOLM 2,502,704

APPARATUS FOR CONCENTRATING ORES CENTRIFUGALLY Filed Sept. 15, 1947 v 2Sheets-Sheet 1 G-G. CHISHOLM ATT'YS Apifl 4, 11.950 G. G. CHISHOLM2,502,704

APPARATUSYFOR CONCENTRATING ORES CENTRIFUGALLY Filed Sept. 13, 1947 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR G. G CHISHOLM Patented Apr. 4, 1950 APPARATUSFOR CONCENTRATING ORES CENTRIFUGALLY Gilbert Gordon Chisholm, London,Ontario, Canada, assignor to Ferros Metals Research (30., Limited,Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a'company of Ontario Application September 13,1947, Serial No. 773,887

2 Claims. (Cl. 233-27) This invention generally relates to a method forseparating ore pulps into a concentrate and a tailing, and to anapparatus for accomplishing the method of the invention. Moreparticularly, the invention discloses a method and apparatus forcentrifugally concentrating low grade ores in a continuous manner.

Most of the readily accessible high-grade ironore deposits in NorthAmerica have been depleted, and the tenor of iron-ores beneficiated hasbeen continually decreasing. Such lowgrade deposits are now being workedthat standard concentrating methods have been found wanting when appliedto these ores, since substantial losses accompany the employment ofthese methods.

. It is therefore an object of the present invention to beneficiatelow-grade iron ores with a minimum of loss of values.

Afurther object of the invention is to inexpensively and eflicientlyconcentrate low-grade iron ores.

A further object of the invention is to continuously separate variousores into a concentrate and a tailing.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of simpleconstruction adapted to concentrate ores through centrifugal action.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a centrifugal oreconcentrator which is sturdy, durable, and economical of manufacture.

With these and other objects in view, the invention generally comprisescontinuously separating an ore pulp into a concentrate and a tailing byleading the pulp into a plurality of openended tubes angularly disposedon a rotating means, rotating said tubes at high speeds, continuouslyremoving a tailing from the ends of the tubes, and continuously removinga concentrate from an area of the inner peripheral edges of the tubes.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from a study of thefollowing detailed specification taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure l i a vertical section of an apparatus adapted to carry out themethod of my invention,

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical section of the concentrate withdrawalmeans, and

Figure 3 is a plan section of the concentrate withdrawal means.

Referring particularly to Figure l, numeral l represents a verticalspindle. A sleeve H is rotatably mounted on spindle ill by means ofthrust bearings 62 and bushings l3 and 14. A drive pulley [5, adapted toreceive a belt, is attached to sleeve ll, whereby the sleeve may bebeltdriven. Two discs, or spiders l6 and Il attached to sleeve 9!,support a plurality of open-ended concentrating tubes l8 at an angle tothe axis of spindle it). A feed distributor head I!) is fixedly mountedon the rotatable sleeve It and rotates therewith. Distributing tubes 20connect distributor head IS with each of the concentrating tubes l8.

A cylindrical screen 2| may be mounted within each tube 18. Each tube I8 is provided with a concentrate discharge slot 22 in the wall of thetube adjacent the outer end thereof. A spigot collar 23 isconcentrically mounted on said tube in the area of slot 22. A dischargespout 2 extends from spigot'collar 23 and the latter i further providedwith an orifice 25. A splitter 26 is disposed within tube 3 to directthe concentrate toward discharge spout 24. The positions of a splitterin the form of a deflector plate 26 and spout 2 3, relative to dischargeslot 22, maybe varied by means of a stud 21, attached to the splitterand projecting through orifices 25 in spigot collar 23. The outer end ofstud 21 is threaded and is provided with a nut 28, by means of whichstud 21 may be clamped to spigot collar 24. A concentrate launder 29 isarranged below concentrate discharge spouts 24, and a tailings launder30 is disposed below the outer ends of the tubes.

Tubes 18 have been shown in the drawing as straight in form. Actually, Iprefer to use curved tubes angularly disposed on sleeve II, and I preferto so curve the tubes that they approach the vertical at their outerends. In this construction, concentrate discharge spout 24 extendsoutwardly substantially at right angles to spigot collar 23.

The method of operation is as follows. The machine is set in motion,causing the tubes I8 to revolve about the fixed spindle In. (With lowgrade iron ores, I prefer to use speeds somewhat i excess of 1000revolutions per minute. Considerably greater or lesser speeds areemployed, however, with other ores.) Comminuted ore, in the form of aliquid pulp, is fed into the distributor head l9, and is thrown bycentrifugal force to the sides of the latter, and thence throughdistributor tubes 20 to concentrating tubes l8. As the pulp passes downthe tubes l8 under the influences of gravity and of centrifugal force,particles of relatively high specific gravity tend to concentrate alongthe inner walls of tubes 18 through the screen 2|.) As the pulpapproaches a i the outer ends of the tubes, the concentrating, orsorting through specific gravity differences, is completed. If ahorizontal section is taken through the pulp mass at this time, the masswill be found to be in the form of a segment of a circle, the chord ofsaid segment being substantially radially disposed with regard to saidspindle; and if an analysis were made of the values of materialconstituting this segmental form, it would be found that the values wereconcentrated over the area of the segment remote from the spindlewhereas the area nearest the spindle was substantially deplete ofvalues. The downward travel of the pulp mass is interrupted by thesplitter '26 which directs the enriched portion of the pulp toconcentrate discharge slot 22, whence it is thrown through concentratedischarge spout 24 into concentrate launder 29. The depleted portion ofthe pulp passes by the splitter, and is thrown out of the ends of thetubes into tailings launder 30. The tailings may be dumped, or may berepassed through the same concentrator, or a similar one, in order tofurther clean the tailings.

Modifications of the method and of the apparatus will be apparent topersons of mechanical ability and persons familiar with the dressing ofores. It is therefore intended that the present disclosure should not belimited in any way other than that indicated by the scope of thefollowing claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Apparatus for continuously dressing an ore pulp into a concentrateand a tailing, comprising, a substantially vertical rotatable member, atleast one tubular member mounted at an acute angle on said rotatablemember and having an inner open end and an outer open end, means forfeeding an ore pulp into the inner open end of said tubular member, asplitter in the form of a deflector plate mounted within said tubularmember near its outer end, and extending only partially across theinterior of said tubular member to allow passage of tailing anddischarge of the same from the outer end of said tubular member, adischarge opening formed in the wall of said tubular member adjacentsaid deflector plate to accommodate concentrate deflected by said plateexteriorly of said tubular member, an

adjustable spigot collar in the form of a sleevelike member slidablymounted on said tubular member and having a discharge opening and aspout mounted thereon about the opening designed to register with thedischarge opening in said tubular member, and means passing through saiddischarge opening for connecting said spigot collar to said deflectorplate.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the discharge openingextends circumferentially of the tubular member a radial dimension ofsubstantially 180 degrees.

GILBERT GORDON CHISHOLM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 730,114 Guttner June 2, 1903935,311 Raist Sept. 28, 1909 943,083 Kuch Dec. 14, 1909 1,014,827 KingJan. 16, 1912 1,014,849 Richardson Jan. 16, 1912 1,111,600 Mauss Sept.22, 1914 1,139,206 McGovern May 11, 1915 2,185,279 Strezynski Jan. 2,1940

